Arrow Weight

[MELSDAD]

#1 What Is A Realistic Hunting Arrow Weight? (carbon)
#2 What Is Spine Of An Arrow?
#3 What Is A Good Vane Length, And How Do You Decide?
Helical Or Straight


Thanks In Advance

[Chris]

Helical should be your only option. You are shooting broadheads and need an arrow to spin. This means helical.

Arrow weight is a whole different issue and relates to spine. We need more information to give a realistic opinion. How many pounds do you pull, what type of cam is on your bow and what is your arrow length and draw length?

Vanes, generally a 4" vane. But with the new improved vanes like the blazer and quikspin, you can sometimes shoot the 2" versions. Your bow must be tuned very well to shoot the smaller ones and you need a really good flying broadhead.

For whitetails, you should get 50ft/lbs of kinetic energy or more. To calculate this, you need to know how fast your bow shoots a given arrow.
Then it is ke = mass weight in grains * (feet/sec ^2) / 450,240

To give you an example, my arrow weighs 400 grains and my bow shoots it at 274 feet per second. This calculates to 66.7 ft/lbs.

Give us more info and we will try to help.

[bfisher]

Chris, you really need to rethink the KE thing. 50lbs/ft is the recommended minimum for elk and larger game. For deer the recommended minimum is around 24-25lbs/ft. I am an adult male, 58 years old with 32+ years of shooting compound bows target, 3D, field shooting, you name it----including hunting. I routinely shoot right through deer sized game with less than 40lbs.ft of energy.

All the KE in the world is worthless if the archer cannot control the bow. Accuracy is the key.

[MELSDAD]

Hello,

I Do Not Have A New Bow Yet So I Can Not Say What The Cam Is . But I Plan On A 70# Draw Weight
My Draw Lenght Is 29.5 (according To Bfishers Formula)
How Would I Determine Arrow Lenght?

[bfisher]

Your arrow length can vary a lot, depending on whether you want it hanging beyond the bow or not. And you'll almost certainly have to be measured after you mount a rest on the bow. The general concensus is to leave the arrow extend beyond the rest about an inch--for safety sake. However, for economic reasons you may just want to leave it at about 29-29.5". If you should change rests later and need a longer arrow you may have to replace them if they are too short. And if should want to shorten them later then you'll still have enough that you just cut an inch off and install new inserts. So you could ultimately end up with arrows as short as 28" if you shoot a rest like the Whisker Bisquit that mounts behind the riser.

And the best place to get all this done is at a pro-shop. They should be able to set you up with the right equipment. Just remember, Drawlength equals "wingspan divided by 2.5" This is a starting place, but should be a lot closer than 2" too long like most people shoot.

And considering that you'll be shooting about 70# or even 65# KE just became a moot subject for anything walking around in North America.